When the holy Ba’al Shem Tov lived as a hidden tzaddik, wandering from city to city and village to village, one of his sacred practices, which he also instilled among his fellow hidden tzaddikim, was to ask every Jew he encountered, men and women, young and old, about their health and their livelihood. He took great satisfaction in hearing their warm responses of praise to God, “Thank God,” “Blessed be God,” “Praise to the Almighty,” and the like.
Once the Ba’al Shem Tov came to a certain town. In that town lived an elderly Jew, a great Torah scholar utterly removed from all worldly affairs. For more than fifty years he had sat day and night studying Torah in asceticism and holiness. He fasted continually, wrapped in his tallit and adorned with tefillin, and only after the evening prayer would he taste a small piece of bread dipped in water.
When the Ba’al Shem Tov entered the secluded chamber of this great sage in the corner of the synagogue, he asked him about his health and whether he had what he needed. The sage paid no attention to the Ba’al Shem Tov, who was dressed as a simple villager. The Ba’al Shem Tov repeated his questions several times, until the sage grew angry and gestured toward the door, signalling him to leave.
The Ba’al Shem Tov said to him: "Rebbe, why do you not provide for the Kaviyachol [“as it were,” i.e. for God]?" These words bewildered the sage: what is a simple villager doing speaking of God as "the Kaviyachol"—a connotation used by only the greatest scholars who wished to distance themselves from any anthropomorphism—and His livelihood? The Ba’al Shem Tov, perceiving his thoughts, said: "Jews 'sit' upon the livelihood that God grants them. But upon what 'livelihood' does God 'sit'? King David tells us in Psalms: 'And You are holy'—upon what do You 'sit'?—'enthroned upon the praises of Israel.' The Kaviyachol, as it were, sits upon the praises that the people of Israel offer Him for the health and livelihood He grants them and for these words of praise, God grants them long life and abundant sustenance."
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When the Ba’al Shem Tov reached his eighteenth year, the hidden tzaddikim chose him as their leader. He then proposed that the hidden tzaddikim settle in towns and occupy themselves as teachers of young children and he himself became an assistant to a teacher in the town of Yazlovits.
During that period he would personally bring the children to the schoolroom, reciting with them blessings and verses—Shema Yisrael, Torah tzivah, and the like. He would also tell them stories of Moses and the Patriarchs, and review their studies with them. After their lessons he would walk them home, and recite the bedtime Shema with them. All of this he did with joyful melodies, which he taught them as well.
One might ask: even granting that there is value and benefit in a Jew's praising God for his livelihood, what indicates that there is no greater benefit—or at least an equal one—derived from Torah study? And if this is not self-evident, why did the Ba’al Shem Tov see fit to interrupt the recluse's study in order to say these words to him?
The Rebbe answers that the "livelihood" Jews provide to God is given specifically through simple praise concerning their material affairs. God desired a dwelling place among the lower worlds and it is precisely when we discover God's goodness within the lowliest of matters that we reveal Him and enthrone Him, as it were, within the lower realms, thereby sustaining and fulfilling His will and desire.
This is the elevated quality of the simple Jew, who unites the higher and lower realms in actuality. The "higher" is the simple radiance of God's essence shining within him; the "lower" is his mundane, physical life, which he lives in accordance with God's will. In the Torah of the recluse who in his isolated chamber sought to dwell purely in the realm of the “higher,” God's will was not fulfilled. This is what the Ba’al Shem Tov came to teach him.
Rectifying Reality
This first campaign initiated by the Ba’al Shem Tov—we might call it the "Shalom Aleichem" campaign—was what opened the door, so to speak. to all of the Ba’al Shem Tov's campaigns dedicated to the education of the Jewish people and the rectification of all reality. His efforts in this respect continued throughout his life and after his passing, through those who carried forward and studied his teachings.
Tikkun (rectification) is a form of hitlabshut (enclothment), as reflected in the Aramaic translation of the verse "A man shall not wear a woman's garment" (Deuteronomy 22:5), whose Aramaic translation in Onkelos reads, "a man shall not rectify (yetaken) himself with a woman's rectifications (tikunei)." To rectify reality means to draw down God's light so that it may be enclothed and dwell within it, as a soul descends to animate a body. Each stage in this great work is a small tikkun, accomplishing its purpose and adding light to the world.
It follows, then, that for all the greatness of natural praise to God, this is only the beginning of the path. It is told that four years later, at the age of twenty-two, the Ba’al Shem Tov proposed beginning a campaign to instill Torah among the simple people of Israel. This is a far more advanced mission: out of a powerful faith in the connection between Torah and every Jew, one sets out to instill it within a reality that appears entirely unrelated to it. The "Shalom Aleichem" campaign naturally preceded the campaign for Torah study. The Ba’al Shem Tov explained this on the basis of the teaching that "a drink draws hearts close": one must first offer a Jew material kindness, and only afterward give him spiritual guidance. When one takes interest in a Jew simply as he is, in his present condition, without attempting to improve or correct anything about him, a fondness between the hearts is forged. Only when there is fondness and a feeling of caring for one another can the relationship mature to include spiritual guidance and kindness.
This principle is demonstrated by the fact that the Ba’al Shem Tov’s soul descended into the world by virtue of a simple, material act of kindness performed by the Ba’al Shem Tov's father toward a Jew who appeared to be publicly desecrating Shabbat. From this we may also learn that preceding spiritual guidance and kindness with material kindness is not merely a demonstration of the idea of a "preparation for a mitzvah,” which would give the impression that the mitzvah is the spiritual kindness, but that the material kindness is inconsequential. On the contrary, even when physical kindness stands alone and yields no spiritual fruit, it possesses an immense and wondrous value of its own. The kindness of the Ba’al Shem Tov’s father was purely material: he fed and sustained the poor man without attempting to influence him spiritually in any way and certainly without conditioning his material kindness upon any spiritual progress on the man's part.
Israel are a holy People, and material kindness to a fellow Jew is itself the fulfillment of a mitzvah. As the Alter Rebbe taught: "The materiality of another person is your spirituality!"
